The French expression “tirer le diable par la queue” translates literally to “to pull the devil by the tail”.
English meaning:
- to live hand to mouth
French meaning:
- vivre sans peu de ressources – to live with few resources
Example sentence:
- La réalité c’est que la plupart des américains tirent le diable par la queue : le rêve américain deveint impossible à atteindre. The reality is that the majority of Americans live hand to mouth and that the American dream is becoming impossible to reach.
Related:
Speed up your learning with an app
Many of our students have greatly enhanced their learning by using an app. On these pages we've examined the top-30 apps for learning French. On this pages we've written comprehensive reviews for Pimsleur (great for people struggling with pronunciation), Rosetta Stone and FrenchPod101 (both great for visual learners).
- un/une précaire (noun) – person who’s job is unstable
- précaire (adjective) – unstable, insecure (with regards to jobs and income).
If you've found this post useful you might want to considering looking at our post covering the best apps for learning French. We've looked a total 33 apps and have written comprehensive reviews of Rosetta Stone, Pimsleur and FrenchPod101.
David Issokson is a lifelong language enthusiast. His head is swimming with words and sounds as he speaks over six languages. Of all the languages he speaks, he's the most passionate about French! David has helped hundreds of students to improve their French in his private online lessons. When procrastinating working on his site, FrenchLearner.com, David enjoys his time skiing and hiking in Teton Valley, Idaho.
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Bonjour! My name is David Issokson. I'm based in Victor, Idaho (near Jackson, Wyoming) and have helped hundreds of students to learn French online since 2013.
